Post Plutonium
by Paige Turner ME
Summary: This is Post "Is that plutonium...". In this version Devan did not stay with her residency at the Morgue and follows the crew after the episode ended.


Post Plutonium

A/N: This is something that came to me after watching the episode that first premiered Devan's character. I decided to explore the idea of her turning down Macy's offer of staying at the morgue.

Disclaimer: I don't own Crossing Jordan or any of its characters and I don't own "It's in His Kiss" by Cher. (Otherwise I'd be freakin' rich!)

This is also my first CJ fic. I'm new to the show and am currently catching the old episodes on A&E, so I apologize in advance if I get anything totally wrong. Now onto the story…

Garret, Woody, Nigel and Devan got into the car to head back to the morgue. Garret introduced the young ME to Nigel and Woody before asking her what had happened once she arrived at the Brown 'house'.

For being in a stressful situation all day, Garret thought she sure talked a lot. Devan was kind enough to share how she figured the entire thing out and that even though their methods were less than ideal, it worked out alright in the end.

"So let me get this straight, you're saying that the end justified the means in this case?" Garret asked.

Nigel and Woody shared in the rearview mirror. There was no mistaking his tone of voice. He was obviously still upset with the fact that the NEST team had killed someone who was on a ventilator for a game.

"Not exactly. But you have to admit that if this situation ever happened for real then they'd have to know how everyone would react." Devan said manner-of-factly.

"Probably the same way we reacted this time." He said in a tense voice.

Devan apparently picked up on his tone finally and decided to drop the matter. Minutes later she decided to try and engage in conversation again.

"So Nigel, you work at the morgue as well?" she asked.

"Yes. I'm the ME with an affinity for computers it seems."

"Really, you don't look like an ME."

Nigel looked at her as if he were offended by her comment. She quickly added, "Not that I mean that in a bad way."

"Detective Hoyt, are you always this involved with the ME's cases?" Devan asked sweetly.

Nigel fought the urge to roll his eyes. It seems that she was bored with him or was too embarrassed to keep talking to him after her last comment. Now she was apparently trying to get on Woody's good side.

Woody shifted uncomfortably, "Uhh, sometimes. I try not to, but there's always this force that keeps sucking me in."

Nigel snickered, "Does that force happen to have a name that begins with a J and ends in Cavanaugh?"

Even Garret had to crack a smile at that. He glanced sideways at the homicide detective and noticed the slight blush on his face.

"Don't worry Hoyt, that force sucks us all in on occasion."

Nigel looked at Garret incredulously, "On occasion? Are we talking about the same 'force' here?"

Devan looked between the three men and asked, "Did I miss something?"

Garret shook his head, "Trust me, you don't want to know."

Woody pulled into the garage of the morgue a few minutes later and told Macy and Nigel he'd see them later at the Pogue. He told Devan it was nice to meet her and declined her invitation to meet up later for drinks, much to Nigel's amusement.

Nigel informed Peter and Bug what had happened and the story behind it all, while Garret finished up the paperwork on the case personally. He also wrote up a letter to send to the NEST office to tell them exactly what he thought of their operation.

It was well after hours by the time he was ready to leave and meet everyone at the Pogue. He was surprised to see Devan still there. He apologized about his behavior earlier and asked if she'd still like to continue with her residency at the morgue.

To his astonishment, she declined. In the car she had given all indication that she would be staying despite today's fiasco. He asked her why she had the sudden change of mind.

"I just don't think I'd fit here. The people are far different than what I'm used to." She replied simply.

He didn't know if she meant that as an insult or she was just unaware of how it sounded and truly felt that way. They said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. While in the elevator Garret felt like this was probably a good idea. He had enough trouble worrying about Jordan let alone this new woman.

By the time Garret arrived everyone had already shown up and was seated at a table towards the back.

Woody waved him over, "Hey doc! Over here."

Garret slipped in the chair next to Bug and ordered a beer. The group, which consisted of Peter, Nigel and Lily, chatted loudly about the day's events. Garret had already finished his first beer before he realized someone was missing.

"Where's Jordan? I thought she'd be back by now." He asked.

"Not to worry, boss." Nigel said, "I gave her a ring about 20 minutes ago. The Celtics game just let out so she and Max should be here soon."

Woody furrowed his brow, "Is that where she's been all day? With Max?" He knew the two were having problems and hadn't heard that they had already worked them out.

Lily nodded, "It's his birthday. Jordan decided to take him out for dinner and to the game tonight."

"I gave her the day off so she could spend it with Max. I thought maybe the two would finally talk and get back to normal." Garret said to Woody.

Peter piped up, "So what did you think of that new ME? I didn't get to meet her, but I heard she was kind of hot."

Nigel groaned, "She was bloody awful. Kept going on and on in the car when we left the airport. To much of a talker if you ask me."

Lily agreed, "Yeah, she was kind of pushy too. I mean I still feel bad for what happened to her, but she kept insisting that she could go. Like she wouldn't take no for an answer."

"So we don't like the new ME?" Bug asked somewhat confused.

"There's not going to be a new ME, and besides she was just a resident." Garret said. He explained what happened and told them all not to expect to see around the morgue anymore.

Lily sighed, "Well that's a relief. She seemed kind of high and mighty anyway. If you'll excuse me gentlemen, I'm going to the ladies room."

"Speaking of the pushy blonde, I think she had the hots for Woodrow." Nigel said teasingly.

Woody shifted in his chair, "No, she just invited me for drinks. I told her it probably wasn't a good idea."

Peter took a swig of his beer and asked, "Any reason you thought it was a bad idea?"

Woody narrowed his eyes at him, "What do you mean?"

"Tall, brunette with a per chance for trouble have anything to do with your refusal?"

Garret gave Peter a warning look not to push Woody into discussing something so sensitive. He knew that Hoyt and Jordan had...something. However the jury was still out on what exactly that 'something' was. He didn't want to see Jordan hurt, but Woody by all appearances was careful not to push her into anything too fast.

Before Woody had a chance to answer a familiar voice spoke up, "Tall, brunette and trouble? Sounds like someone I know."

The guys looked up from the table to see Jordan standing a few feet behind them. Woody gulped when he saw what she was wearing. It was a simple black dress with spaghetti straps and flowed softly just above her knees. It had a modest v-neck that let you see just enough to get your imagination running.

His eyes traveled up from her dress to notice that she'd left her hair curly and left half of it flowing down her back, while the rest was in a messy bun with a few rogue stands escaping and framing her face.

Nigel was the first to speak, "Yikes, love. Is this the dress code for birthdays? Because if it is mine is coming up very soon."

"Trust me it wasn't my idea to wear this to the Celtics game. The restaurant where we had dinner has a strict dress code and we ended up not having enough time to change before the game." Jordan said while taking the open seat next to Woody.

Max came bustling over to the group with a bucket of beers. "On the house everyone." He said setting the bucket on the table.

"Dad you're going to go broke if you keep doing this," Jordan said, "Let me get this. It is your birthday."

"Jordan you have done plenty enough for me today." Max said kissing his daughter's head. "You just sit her and enjoy yourself now. I'm going to see how business has been."

He started to turn away, but hesitated, "Jordan, I want to thank you for today. It was perfect sweetheart."

Jordan took his hand and squeezed it lightly, "Anytime Dad."

After Max walked away Peter and Nigel looked at each other before exclaiming, "Awe! How sweet."

"Shut up guys. So did I miss anything interesting today?"

"That's the understatement of the year." Bug said sarcastically.

Jordan looked around the table confused, "What happened?"

Garret launched into the story first and explained the day's events with Nigel, Woody, Bug, Peter and Lily (who had just returned from the ladies room) speaking up in parts to fill in the blanks.

Jordan looked surprised, "Wow, you take one day off and look what happens."

Nigel grinned, "Just be glad you missed Dr. Maguire."

"Was she really that bad?" Jordan asked.

Peter shrugged, "Bug and I didn't get to meet her."

Jordan looked at Woody who had been surprising quiet tonight, "What about you, Woody? What did you think of her?"

Woody shrugged, "She was okay I guess. Talked a lot, but we really didn't get to know much about her."

"Oh, but you could've Woody." Peter said grinning.

Jordan looked suspiciously at Peter, "What do you mean Peter?"

She had a bad feeling in her gut that she might not want to hear it. She would be heartbroken to here that Woody had shown some interest in someone else just when she felt like she was ready to move forward into a relationship. After doing some thinking and talking with her dad today she was ready to take Woody up on his offer to discuss 'this' as he had wanted to earlier that week.

Peter saw the look on Jordan's face. Although he didn't know her very well and even less about her past he had come to like her. He noticed the expression on her face and that she was now worried about what he'd said.

Garret also picked up on her demeanor and was about to step in before Peter cut him off, "Oh, she asked Woody out for drinks but he turned her down flat."

Woody had been about to kill Peter moments before, and especially after he saw Jordan's expression. He thought any chance they had was about to blow up in his face before Peter jumped back in and reassured her that nothing had happened.

Jordan just nodded and avoided Woody's intense gaze. The rest of the table picked up on the slight tension and just sipped their drinks for the next few moments until Garret announced that he'd better get going.

Nigel and Bug seemed to follow his lead and soon said they're goodbye's. Lily hugged Jordan before she left and gushed about how nice her dress was before Bug offered her a ride home.

Now it was just Peter, Woody and Jordan. Peter stayed and chatted with the couple while he polished off his beer. While Woody went to order two more drinks for he and Jordan, Peter found his chance to apologize.

"Jordan, I'm sorry for being an ass earlier. I didn't mean to make you think…"

But Jordan cut him off, "No, it's okay Peter. I know you were just fooling around."

Peter smiled and nodded. He said goodbye to Jordan and Woody, who was on his way back to the table, and wished Max a happy birthday before leaving.

It was just the two of them. Jordan had never felt more nervous in her life. She wasn't sure how to bring the subject of their relationship up, or if she should even bring it up at all. What if he were tired of waiting? Even though he turned down that woman, she still didn't know if he did it because of their 'relationship' or because Nigel and Garret had been there. Her two best friends would surely tell her.

Woody noticed the distant look in her eyes, "Hey Jo, you okay?"

Jordan's thoughts snapped back to the present, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You just look kind of lost." He said gently.

She opened her mouth to say something then shut it. She gathered what she wanted to say in her head first, and then began to speak, "Woody, I need to ask you something."

"Uh oh, whenever you start out like that it's usually not good." He said with a nervous laugh.

"No, nothing to do with a case I promise," she said smiling slightly.

"What is it?" Woody was becoming interested in how uncomfortable she looked and he was now wishing that she were having second thoughts about going out with him.

"Remember the other day how you said you wanted to talk about 'us'." She said tentatively.

"Uh huh."

"Well, I think I'm ready to talk."

"I'm sorry what did you say? I think I just hallucinated that you said you wanted to talk about 'us'."

"Woody, if you're going to be like that I'm leaving." Jordan said while beginning to stand up."

Woody jumped from his chair and gently pushed her back into her seat, "No! I'm sorry…I just wasn't expecting that."

Once he saw she wasn't going anywhere he eased back into his chair and looked at her.

"Go ahead, Jo."

"I just want to make sure that we're doing the right thing, you know. I mean we're friends, good friends and I don't want to mess that up."

Woody smiled, "We'll always be friends, Jo. And I think it will work if we want it to."

"But what happens when you come to your senses and find me completely intolerable to be with. What happens then when we have to work together?"

"Jordan, I already find you completely intolerable and believe it or not I still want to pursue a relationship with you."

Jordan laughed and smacked his arm, "Hey, farm boy your no walk in the park either."

Her expression turned serious, "I just don't want to hurt each other, Woody. I can't promise that I'll always behave, but I can promise to give this a try."

Woody took her hand and looked into light brown eyes, "Jordan, that's all I want, is to give this a try."

He sat down his drink and stood up bring Jordan slowly to her feet.

"Come on, let's dance."

Jordan smiled shyly, "Okay, but you're paying, this dress doesn't have pockets."

Woody smiled wolfishly, "Maybe I should check just incase you're holding out on me."

"Pick a song farm boy, then maybe later we'll see."

Woody dropped a couple coins into the jukebox and made a selection. Jordan smiled at him as he walked back towards her. She stepped up to him, fully expecting that he had chosen a slow dance, but was surprised when the music started and Woody took her hand and spun her.

Woody laughed out loud at Jordan's shock of his song choice. Apparently 'It's in His Kiss' had been the last song she would have thought he'd chosen.

"Woody you're crazy!" Jordan said while laughing with delight.

She enjoyed Woody's antics and moves as the song played. It was in this moment that she knew she had made the right decision. He would keep her balanced. He knew when she needed to laugh and did everything possible to make that happen.

She was pleasantly surprised to find when the song ended he showed her exactly how he felt…in his kiss.

FIN


End file.
